There Was A Boy
by jessxreality
Summary: SNowbelle's family and tribe is counting on her marrying and having children - at 17. But what happens when she meets a beautiful foriegn stranger. Will she run away with Keradin? Or stay with her childhood next-door-boy fiance?
1. Chapter 1

1

I fiddled the cold metal on my finger, eyeing the large stone that sat on the gold band. I had never really liked diamonds. For some reason I had always preferred them natural. Before they'd been cut, shaped and moulded. More a stone or rock than a jewel. But they were so beautiful. Natural.

"It's just so lovely," my mother gushed. She thought I would never get married. More out of my choice than anything else. More of my attitude than my choice. "And what perfect timing, with Kate and the baby. This year is just full of good news." My mother sighed gratefully.

"Yes," my aunt said with a soft smile. "And I have to say, our tribe certainly needed it." I grimaced at the mention of our tribe. I didn't want any more reminders.

"Yes, yes," my mother said, quick to dispel the topic. She knew how I hated talking about it. "Of course the wedding won't be for a few years. She is only seventeen." She gave a soft laugh. "And to think, by her age I was married and pregnant with Henry."

I grimaced once again. I also didn't want to be reminded of my 'mothering' duties soon to come. My mother saw my reaction and her lips pursed, brow creasing for just a second before she stood and said, "I had better begin serving the drinks." My aunt nodded, turned to Henry and began a conversation with him.

"Snow?" I heard my name echoed around the living room. At the sound of my name all heads turned expectantly towards me. I gave a smile and stood swiftly to meet my fiancé. For most girls my age their parents would be dead against their boyfriend even staying the night. Not for me. For me that was exactly what they wanted. Only after marriage though.

"Xavier," I said quietly and moved close to him. Xavier was literally the next-door-boy. He had always been around my family; our fathers sharing golfing tips, our mothers sharing cooking tips, our brothers playing. He was the youngest of his brothers and always the most sensitive. Our parents had always pushed us together. To them, we were the perfect match.

He was only one year older than me and very good-looking. As kids we played and mucked around, growing up to be best friends. At school we had our separate acquaintances, but we were always close. It wasn't until later – when I was twelve or thirteen – did I begin to realise what our parents had so deviously planned. And it worked out well for them. As Xavier and I hit out teens he saw a little more in me than before. He was my first kiss. But we tried other people – human people – yet we still always managed to find our way back to each other.

And it all fell from there.

Xavier put an arm around my waist in an all too familiar pose. All eyes in the room were on us.

"Mind if I steal her for a minute?" Xavier asked politely. Mostly he was talking to my father. Of course. If I girl didn't belong to her father or husband she belonged nowhere, right? And technically I was still the property of my father. Therefore Xavier still had to ask permission when ever he wanted us to be alone. Stupid? I absolutely agree. My father gave a warm nod and Xavier steered me away quietly. I heard someone say softly,

"Oh, they are just such a wonderful couple." Yes, of course we were. To them, we always were the perfect couple. The ones to save the tribe. Xavier and I moved into the entrance hall of our house and took me up the stairs to Henry's office. He shut the door behind me with a quiet click and moved to the sofa, gesturing me to follow.

We sat down together, falling into an accustomed position; me on Xavier's lap, head rested against his chest, his arms wrapped around me. Xavier had always been good-looking; adorable baby, cute child, gorgeous teen. He had a sharp face with beautiful green eyes anyone could get lost in. As a young child he had always been on the chubby side, but when he became a teen he lost all his puppy fat, making way for a smooth face with strong features; high cheek bones, pointed jaw bone, thin nose. He had a honey-brown skin that only lightened in the areas he kept covered. His hair was always soft, clean and smelled fresh, a light copper colour. Xavier leant his chin on my shoulder and took a breath of my neck.

"Not feeling too overwhelmed, are you?" he asked me, stroking my hair.

"Yes," I said faintly. No point lying. Xavier always knew.

"Aren't rethinking your decision?" His voice sounded pained. Perhaps he knew my answer. Or my thoughts anyway.

"No," I told him. Okay, that was a lie. But it was a necessary lie.

"You know I wont make you have children like… well, you know what I mean. Whenever you are ready. I swear to you, you will get to live your life," he promised. He was convincing. It was a lie I had been trying to convince myself of too. Yet somehow, my head would never let me believe it entirely.

"I'm seventeen and engaged," I whispered.

"I know," Xavier sighed. "But we aren't getting married anytime soon." I just nodded in response. Xavier touched his own hand to the ring on my left hand, stroking the hard stone. "I know it isn't your style, but it's a tradition." I just nodded again. "Although, since you aren't allowed to wear that one until we get married," Xavier paused, smiling deviously, "I got you a replacement."

"A replacement?" I frowned. As tradition within our tribe, the bride wears the wedding ring for the first night of the engagement – it was also said this night was to be the first kiss the female will receive (why do the legends only specify the woman and never the man? Just a thought) – and then the ring is to be carried by the father of the bride on a chain around his neck until the bride gets married and the ring is once again returned to the bride signifying that ownership now belongs to the husband (to be compared to an inanimate object – every girl's dream).

Although, nowadays we have grown up a bit and the tradition is nothing more than a tradition. And the first kiss thing was also a little old so we kind of gave up on that tradition. Gee, if I hadn't kissed Xavier before now I think I would've gone crazy.

"Yes," Xavier said grinning; bearing his beautifully straight, white teeth. "And it is definitely more your style." He would know. He took out a small box and handed it to me. I sat up, still on his lap, and took the box from his hands. I opened it slowly, not exactly sure what to expect.

Inside was a large ring with no stones at all. I already felt the smile appear on my face. There would have been more than five or so bands all linked intricately together in a Celtic pattern. I took it out of the box carefully and slipped it onto my right hand, fitting perfectly. It was thick when all the bands were linked together and would have covered at least half an inch of my finger. I pulled my hand away watching the silver glint in the dull light of my brother's office.

"Thank you, Xavier," I said and buried my face into his neck. "It's beautiful."

"I knew you would like it. I saw it and couldn't walk past without getting it." Xavier leant down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. I relaxed into him again. There was a soft knock at the door and we reluctantly untangled ourselves.

"Come in," I said, standing. It was my mother. She peeked her head around the door, and when she saw we were fully clothed she looked relieved.

"The guests are getting impatient. Perhaps you should join us…" She trailed off expectantly.

"We'll be down in a second," Xavier said.

"I know this is hard for you Snowbelle, but it's only one night," my mother reasoned.

"And the wedding," I muttered. Xavier looked hurt for a second before he wiped the look from his face. "I just don't see what all the flourish is for," I amended.

"You know what the flourish is for," my mother said, perhaps a little too darkly for her housewife-self. I gritted my teeth. Oh yes, I knew. When you are one of the few females left of the tribe there is always a lot of flourish. Xavier placed a hand on the small of my back, calming my tense body.

"Come on, it will be over soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Xavier stroked my side unconsciously, tracing patters on my skin

Xavier stroked my side unconsciously, tracing patters on my skin. How pissed would my dad be if he knew we were in bed together. Again. Sure, there was no sex, but still, father was never happy when he caught us. It might seem strange for there to be no sex between us since we had been going out for years – but it was custom. We had come close a few times, but Xavier always stopped it. I think he was scared we would be caught and he would lose me. For some reason I thought he already had.

We didn't talk. The night had ended with an embarrassing toast and Xavier kissing me in front of all my family and friends. Not what I needed. Then I had crawled away to bed, leaving all the cleaning up to my mum and brothers. Xavier had snuck in later; through the side window which he had been climbing since he was eight.

Although, when we were eight he snuck in to watch scary movies we weren't supposed to see, tell ghost stories that had us both shaking and read magazines that made us laugh till we cried. Later those nights became a little less innocent. We would talk all night about everything. And sometimes those nights became more than talking. We could see each other from out bedroom windows and often I would look out the side window to see a note stuck to his. Some times it would be a simple 'I love you'. Other times (after a fight) it would say 'I'm sorry' or 'I miss you'. He was always the first to say sorry. The first to feel guilty. But no, in Xavier's arms, I felt guilty. Only now, I couldn't voice it. Because he would forgive me. I know he would. And I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't just let him forgive me like all those other times. This was different. This was entirely different.

"What are you thinking?" Xavier asked me softly.

"About you," I answered. Xavier smiled and shook his head.

"You know I'm sorry, don't you?" he asked, looking at me intensely. See what I mean. He was apologising and he didn't even know what for.

"Don't do that," I told him, closing my eyes.

"What?"

"Apologise. You don't need to. I love you. You know that."

"But you don't want to get married. I know that too."

"Yeah, well, I'm dealing with it, okay."

"I don't what you to just 'deal with it'. I want you to want it." Xavier turned me in his arms so his eyes were level with mine. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd never want it.

"I will, Xavier. Just give me a little time," I said instead. Xavier didn't seem convinced. He nodded anyway.

"Well, I should probably go," he said as he began to get up.

"Why?" I asked, suddenly panicky for an irrational reason. Xavier frowned in concerned and kissed my forehead.

"Because you and I both need to sleep. We have those agents from the next tribe coming to stay with us for a few months. Remember?"

"Oh, right," I said, recalling something my mother had said. Agents from another tribe. Sure.

"You forgot," Xavier stated with a smile and he got out of my bed.

"Maybe," I shrugged. Xavier laughed softly and kissed me again.

"Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow," he said, moving towards the window. I followed him and he kissed me once more, a little less chastely and leap from the window into his open one. He waved once then, reluctantly, closed his curtain. I did the same.

Agents from another tribe. I tried to remember what mother had said exactly. Often we did have other agents come to stay with us – my parents were the leaders of out tribe and we had the biggest house – but never for so long. This worried me. You see, what I failed to explain before was, well, we aren't exactly human. Hence the 'tribe' thing. Also why I have to get married and pop out a few kids. Our tribe numbers are dwindling. Mainly because not enough females are being born as there are males.

As to what we are… well, it's a little far fetched. In human eyes that is. To us, it's normal. I guess you could say we're fairies but not in the myth sense of the word. We don't have wings or anything but we do have magic. We have enhanced hearing, sight, strength, touch and all that. The magic between us varies from tribe to tribe, family to family, person to person. Usually the magic is in categories of the elements. Wind, water, earth, fire and metal. Simple really. Well, sort of.

My magic is in the wind category. Mother was wind. So I can fly, move stuff with my mind and change the weather (to an extent). But Father is earth, so I can also heal. Weird, I know, but whatever. Xavier is fire so he can shift into animals, but he inherited some metal power too so he can create illusions.

My sister, Kate, the one who was just recently married and now pregnant, is water, which means she has mind control, but also received hat ability to talk to animal and plants. Freaky stuff, I know.

Originally, the tribes were separate and all the powers were kept within one tribe, but as the female population dwindled, interbreeding was needed, so a mixing of the powers.

That was also why tribes often negotiated things with each other. It was needed to keep us alive. Especially since humans are practically taking over the world. Our existence if kept quiet mainly because humans would freak if they found out magic existed. You know with the whole 'if I don't understand it, I'll kill it or medically test it' thing humans seem to have. We don't practically want either of those things. And we couldn't win a war against the billions of humans.

Some important world leaders know about us, but other than that it's kept quiet. We usually try to blend in the human crowd though. I go to a human high school – with magic tutoring on the side – and have made many human friends. Another thing with us, we sort of attract humans. I don't understand it, but humans like us.

I flicked the light off on my bedside table and slid under the covers, missing Xavier's body next to mine. Why did everything have to be so complicated.

I woke up to mother shouting at me. Not a nice sight at any time.

"Snowbelle! Wake up. They're going to be here soon. Get dressed!"

"Just five more minutes," I mumbled. Cliché, but it was the first thing I could come up with so early. My wit didn't kick in till at least 11.

"No, you and Xavier have to welcome them too. You're part of the family."

"Don't remind me," I muttered. My mother ripped the blanket off me, a sheet of cold replacing it and I curl up and said,

"It's cold, mum."

"Yeah, well, perhaps that's some incentive to get in the shower. Now."

"Whatever," I mumbled as I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

After I'd showered and dressed I met mother in the kitchen. She practically threw breakfast at me and said,

"You could at least look a little nice."

"I thought I did," I said looking down at my jean and floaty top ensemble. I'd even worn heels. Mother just shook her head and clicked her tongue. I decided to ignore it.

"I think you do," I heard Xavier's voice say as his arms wrapped around me, kissing my neck. I smiled and turned in his arms. He looked dashing as per usual in a nice pair of dressy jeans, and a dress shirt with the top two buttons undone to show off just enough of his beautiful chest, and the bottom untucked with the sleeves rolled up to the crooks of his elbows. Perfect. Messy formal that suited him so well.

"Tuck your shirt in," my mother said with a disapproving look as to the way Xavier was holding me. In response I grabbed Xavier by the neck and brought his mouth down on mine. Xavier reacted enthusiastically for a few seconds before remembering my mother was the audience and pulled away quickly.

"What exactly are you trying to prove?" he asked, his voice just a little ragged as compared to his usual cool tones. I turned my head to my mother who was currently staring me down with death in her eyes.

"Nothing," I said cheerily, suddenly happy that I was able to piss off my mother. I bounced off the stool I was sitting on and began to make for my bedroom with Xavier in tow. When we were out of the kitchen he stopped me and pulled me into his arms, before kissing me deeply again. He pulled my body in tightly as I pushed against him. His hands run down my sides and mine went around his neck and into his thick soft copper hair. It was only as I began to run my hands down his chest did he pull away. I made a noise of protest and tried to kiss him again. Xavier just smiled and shook his head, saying,

"We have guest coming soon."

"I don't care," I said, kissing Xavier's neck softly. Pushed me away gently just as we both heard a car pull up in front of the house. Our enhanced hearing made it possible.

"See," Xavier said, looking triumphant. I sighed and said,

"Fine," in a sulky tone.

Mother had all of us arranged in the front room when the agents arrived. They were one of the richer families from the tribe closest to us. Apparently they had a young daughter and older son coming to stay too. My father wanted to discuss tribal boundaries and the agents were going to see if they could find a suitable suitor for their daughter from our tribe. Why they couldn't find on from their own tribe I didn't know, but I wasn't going to point that out. My mother fussed around everything right up until the moment she opened the door with a wide smile.

In the front room it was only my parents, Henry, Tyler (two of my three brothers), Xavier and I. I didn't see what all the fuss was about. The agents had probably just travelled miles and only wanted to rest. Not be subjected to my crazy family.

The agents walked in, looking weary from travel and scanning over our faces.

"Welcome," my mother gushed. "Everyone, this is Frank, Mel, Frances and Keradin." She pointed to each in order. Frank and Mel were obviously the parents, looking the same age as mine. Frances looked younger than me, but only by a little. Maybe fifteen or sixteen. My eyes found Keradin's last, and I think my heart stopped. He was looking at me with a half smirk and winked at me when I caught his gaze. He was taller than Xavier and had dark rich brown skin. Unsurprising since all the family did. He had dark rich hair and deep hazel eyes that almost looked golden. He was built with a soft, yet manly face. I had a feeling my mouth was open, but I was too stunned to even think about it.

He was gorgeous.


End file.
